Bhasma - Bhasmikaran

Bhasmikaran is a process by which a substance which is otherwise bioincompatible is made biocompatible by certain samskaras or processes (Puranik and Dhamankar, 1964e). The objectives of samskara are :- a) elimination of harmful matters from the drug b) modification of undesirable physical properties of the drug c)conversion of some of the characteristics of the drug d) enhancement of the therapeutic action(Puranik and Dhamankar, 1964e). Various steps involved in the preparation of bhasma(or bhasmikaran) are:- 1) Shodhan -Purification, 2) Maran - Powdering, 3) Chalan- Stirring, 4) Dhavan - Washing, 5) Galan- Filtering, 6) Putan- Heating, 7) Mardan- Triturating, 8) Bhavan- Coating with herbal extract, 9) Amrutikaran - Detoxification and 10) Sandharan- Preservation (Puranik and Dhamankar, 1964e). Selection of these steps depends on the specific metal. Sometimes there is an overlapping of the steps e.g. maran is achieved by puttan. Since the present thesis work is on bhasma, Bhasmikaran process is elaborated in details in the following paragraphs.